Journalist Milton Neves has suggested in his column for UOL (as translated by Sport Witness) that Richarlison is not good enough to wear the Selecao’s number nine shirt.
Brazil were one of the favourites going into the World Cup and, although they started the tournament in impressive fashion, it ultimately ended in disappointment as Tite’s men lost on penalties to Croatia in the quarter-final.
Richardson was one of Selcao’s bright sparks during the tournament with three goals and one assist in four starts in Qatar (Transfermarkt). However, Neves has now suggested that the Tottenham man was actually one of Brazil’s weak links at the World Cup.
The journalist states in his column that the number nine shirt was ‘too heavy’ for Richarlison and that despite being a very good player with great charisma, he is not of the required quality to lead the line for the five-time world champions.
He writes about the 25-year-old: ‘Richarlison is great, but the number 9 shirt of the national team is too heavy for him. Even with pain in the heart, because he is a spectacular guy, we need to speak the truth.’
Neves suggests that Palmeiras wonderkid Endrick could be the answer to Brazil’s woes at centre-forward. Interestingly, Tottenham are one of the clubs who have been credited with an interest in the 16-year-old forward over recent months (YouTube channel – Canal do Nicola).
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These types of inquest pieces are quite common when a nation like Brazil underperforms at the World Cup, with pundits and journalists often looking for scapegoats.
The reality is that teams need an element of luck to win knockout competitions and Brazil simply did not have any against Croatia. To blame Richarlison for their elimination is ridiculous, given that he was one of Selecao’s best players in the tournament.
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